Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
by Atlus
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Product Summary
Brand: AtlusAudio: English (Unknown)
Published: 2008-11
Release Date: 2005-04-05
Platform: PlayStation2
Publisher: Atlus
Product features:
- Epic sci-fi fantasy adventure with over 50 hours of gameplay
- Devour your enemies and absorb their devastating powers and special abilities
- Strategic battle system as you switch between human and demon to take advantage of your opponents' weaknesses
- Customize and develop your characters using the unique Mantra Flow system
- All-new Break system allows you to protect you from an enemies attack and even reflect it back at them
Video Game Reviews of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Customer Review: Comes highly overrated
Summary: 3 Stars
As a fan of the "Persona" series, I've been trying to investigate other spinoffs of the "Shin Megami Tensai" world. My first foray was the "Devil Summoner," which were quite good (particularly the 2nd one, which was released pretty recently).
But today, we're talking about "Digital Devil Saga". I had ignored it for a while because the sequel (which, from what I hear, is actually just the 2nd part of the first game, and thus vital to the experience) had been a very rare game for some time. Thankfully, for reasons unknown to me, the sequel recently became cheaper, so I bought them both and started the journey.
And, all in all, it's a pretty mediocre journey thus far. The first game is OK, but it's nothing special. I didn't expect the depth of character found in, say, "Persona 4," but the story is pretty sparse. You play as the ruler of a tribe, whose goal is to conquer and eat other tribes... ]
...
...yeah, I said eat. The game seems to get off on this aspect a little too much. It would be one thing if you were told at the beginning that demons need to eat to live, and just leave it at that. But you are CONSTANTLY reminded that people want to eat you, and sometimes, it's just distasteful. For example, while traveling through a dungeon, occasionally you'll get text telling you what your enemies are saying, and it's totally unnecessary. The lowest point: "Wow, look at her! I'd love to eat her breasts! I'll savor her ass! Those thighs look delicious!" This is more in line with that freeware vore junk I read about on "Something Awful" than a game of this pedigree.
The writing itself is bland. The characters play out like goth teenagers who think they are numb to the world. It's pretty boring. The story is more weird than interesting. People live in a place called Junkyard and fight other people at the behest of some temple, in hopes of reaching Nirvana. I know that might not sound too weird OR interesting, but there's a lot of weird stuff that plays out in this regard. I don't want to say much more, because RPGs are about their story. But I will say that while this one isn't horrible, it's hardly stellar.
The gameplay itself makes up for some of these shortcomings, though. For most battles, you play as your demon form. You have one such form, but you can modify his skill set from some weird grid where you download other demon aspects. Kill enough enemies, and you learn more skills, and can move on along the grid. It's not nearly as entertaining as Persona's demon fusions, but it's passable. Battle itself is actually pretty fun. It's hard to explain - basically, you are given three "turns" in a three-player party. You might think that this means that each person gets one attack, but it's more complicated. Instead, certain actions might result in using half a turn, while others can use two or three turns. For example, if you hit an enemies weak point, or score a critical hit, you'll only use half a turn. If an enemy dodges an attack, you'll use two turns. There are combos that can be discovered which use multiple party members, and thus use multiple turns. It's actually pretty fun overall.
You can also begin a battle as a human if you are ambushed. I see no reason to do this unless it affects the ending of your game (I haven't played multiple times, so I can't tell you if this is the case). For the most part, you are much, much weaker overall, and so I usually transform to a demon in my first turn.
One of the negatives to battle is that it is completely random whether or not you attack first, or your enemy. In the first dungeon, I probably attacked first 90% of the time. The same held true for the 2nd dungeon...until I leveled a few times. Then, the enemies attacked first pretty much 100% of the time. I don't know if the enemies level with you or what (I doubt it, since their hit points and attack power doesn't seem to change), but it makes zero sense.
The BIGGEST negative is the encounter rate. Holy crap - you get attacked constantly. In one amusing instance, I was attacked within 2 steps for 6 consecutive encounters. The average battle is rarely difficult, but this is annoying. The boss battles, on the other hand, can be brutal at times. I often found myself grinding around a save point to prepare for a battle that was 10x as difficult as any I had faced thus far.
So, there you go. I don't really know how to rate "Good" and "Bad" in this game. Most of the time, I just thought it was weird, and often found myself losing interest in the story and the characters. I don't really know who I would recommend it to. This game doesn't feel like "Persona" in the least. Maybe it's like the "SMT" main series - I don't know, because I have never played it. If you don't like RPGs, stay away for sure. Even if you do, you need to like a particular kind of RPG to appreciate this, but all in all, it's not unplayable. It's a strange combo of weird and boring.
Description of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga collects the Digital Devil games that redefined role-playing in Japan, and updates them for an all-new experience and a new audience. You are seeking the path to Nirvana when you develop the power to change into a demon. Use this power to defeat your enemies and build up enough to storm Nirvana and earn a place in paradise. Discover special link attacks to unleash the power of your partyAll Games
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